Nigerian student has been sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in the Republic of Ireland for forcing his former girlfriend to take abortion pills, leading to the unlawful termination of her pregnancy.
The convict, Adeleke Adelani, pleaded guilty to causing the unlawful termination of a foetus on February 14, 2020, at his residence in Letterkenny, County Donegal.
Delivering judgment at the Letterkenny Circuit Court, Justice John Aylmer described Adelani’s action as an extreme act of physical and emotional violence against the victim.
The court sentenced him to 11 years in prison for unlawfully ending the pregnancy, with the final two years suspended. He was also handed a five-year sentence for assault causing harm, with the last 12 months suspended. Both sentences are to run concurrently, resulting in an effective nine-year jail term.
Adelani, who is already serving a separate seven-year sentence for another offence, had been scheduled to stand trial in November 2025 but pleaded guilty before a jury was selected.
In a victim impact statement read in court, the woman said she had forgiven Adelani but stressed that forgiveness did not make his actions acceptable.
“When he imprisoned me and caused the termination of my nine-week pregnancy, he took more than my freedom,” she said. “He took my child, my sense of safety and a future I had already begun to plan.”
The court heard that the couple had previously agreed to terminate a pregnancy in 2019. However, when the woman became pregnant again in 2020, she decided to keep the baby.
On Valentine’s Day 2020, Adelani invited her to his home under the belief that he supported her decision. Once she arrived, he threatened her and forced her to ingest abortion tablets, warning that he would beat the foetus out of her if she refused.
After compelling her to swallow five tablets, he locked her in a bedroom and left the house. The woman later contacted the police, who arrived at the scene that afternoon and arrested him.
Medical evidence showed that the woman became seriously ill after taking the tablets, suffering fever, severe pain and heavy bleeding.
Investigators also recovered recorded conversations from Adelani’s phone in which he ordered the woman to abort the pregnancy. The phone remained locked for four years after his arrest until officers were eventually able to access it ahead of trial.
In sentencing, the judge said the crime was “extremely premeditated” and involved extensive online research, adding that Adelani was fully aware of the emotional harm his actions would cause.
Police later praised the victim for her courage and resilience throughout the trial.